High Tide
by TheJaguar
Summary: "Don't go where I can't follow" / Pearl and Peridot have a confrontation late at night on the beach. [AU in which Peridot is a Crystal Gem.]


The sky was black, glittering with only the faintest of stars. The dark ocean lapped hungrily at the pale, white sand. There they stood, motionless. Inches apart, but with a barrier that made Pearl feel miles and miles away.

"You... you can't be serious," Pearl stammered, her voice soft. The stench of salt water and dying seaweed filled her nose and she tried not to gag, not to choke. "You're... going back to Homeworld? Just like that?"

Peridot flexed her fingers as she gulped. Biting her lip, she struggled to speak, but couldn't bring herself to say anything. The two gems had been working together to repair her ship, but... not for this...

"Who do you even think you are?!" Pearl shouted after a moment of silence. Peridot jumped as Pearl stepped closer, getting right in her face. "How _dare_ you think you have the right to just walk away from me! After everything we've been through!"

"I-I can explain," Peridot stammered. She moved to gently push Pearl away, to create some distance between them. But Pearl moved her hands away, and Peridot felt her heart begin to beat even faster in terror. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

"Then start _talking!_ "

"I... I..." Where to even begin? There was Jasper, there was Yellow Diamond, there were the fusion experiments, the looming threat of the Cluster, the... She couldn't even bring herself to think it.

"I'm coming back for you," Peridot finally choked out. For the first time in her adult life, she began to feel a wetness forming at the bottoms of her eyes. Tears? She was crying? The realization hit hard, and escaped her body in full sobs. Ashamed, the green gem hid her face behind her hands. "I don't want to leave you. Please don't be angry with me, Pearl. I... I..."

Part of Pearl wanted to reach out and hold Peridot. She had never seen her like this before. Peridot... She'd been arrogant. Fiery. She was cynical, for sure. Perhaps withdrawn. Quiet. A private sort of gem. But... She'd never seen her emotional like this before. What was going through her head to make her this way?

But the other part of Pearl... That was her personal cynic, telling her that Peridot was making this up. That she didn't really even care. That this was all for show. No one could possibly care about Pearl besides Rose anyway. This would happen to her every time. She would be used and left behind. That's what pearls were made for, and although she was broken, she was no exception. Everyone would leave her. Rose left her. How could she have been so _stupid_?

Not wanting to cave into either one of these impulses, Pearl stood, steely and motionless, waiting for Peridot to speak.

Peridot gulped, wiping her tears away as best she could on her metal arm. "While you were sleeping the other night," the technician gasped out, "I received a message on my video feed from Homeworld. I - I didn't answer right away. Not in your room, of course. So I left and ran out here. It... it was Yellow Diamond."

"And what would she want to do with you?" The response was clipped and short.

Peridot flinched visibly. "Let me explain." Her voice was small, almost tinny from strain. "She... she said that the fusion experiments were a success. That I had to come home immediately. That there was secret information that she could give me only when she saw me on Homeworld itself."

Pearl snorted disdainfully. "And exactly where does 'abandoning your friends without telling them' fit into this?"

"You're being cruel," Peridot mumbled.

"No worse than what you were about to do."

"Please, just let me _explain_."

Pearl sighed, tapping her foot impatiently and folding her arms. "Fine. Continue."

Peridot gulped. "I knew that if I told you all, you would try to come with me. And I also know that Yellow Diamond is ruthless. She wouldn't hesitate to kill any of you, regardless of how important you are. I - I didn't want to put you in danger. So my plan was to go, find out the information, and report it back to you as soon as I could." She felt a lump form in her throat as she finished. "That's the honest truth. I have absolutely no reason to lie to you, Pearl. Please, you _have_ to believe me, I'm _begging._ "

The cold grip that had held Pearl firmly in place began to fade, if only slightly. "You didn't even trust telling me about this?" she asked, her voice soft. Almost wounded, really.

"It's not that I didn't trust you," Peridot said. "It's that I was afraid you would get hurt."

"Who even _cares_ if I get hurt?!" Pearl exploded once more. She gripped Peridot's shoulders right, her nails digging into her green skin. "What were you _thinking_? What if Yellow Diamond is luring you into a trap? You're the one who could be hurt or killed!"

" _I_ care if you get hurt, Pearl! Don't you get that? I'm trying to do you a favor by leaving you and Steven and the others out of this! It's less of a risk for you if only I go!"

"And it's a _huge_ risk for you!"

Peridot shut her eyes tight. Jaw clenched, she balled her fingers into a tight fist and yelled, "Why won't you let me _do this_ for you, Pearl?!"

A huge wave crashed on the sea, splashing Peridot's back and soaking her. The water sunk into her prosthetics and sent electric shocks of pain throughout her body. Agonized, she yelped and fell to the soft sand. Pearl instinctively pulled her off the ground and into her lap, sitting cross-legged on the beach. She untied the sash around her waist and used it to dry off Peridot's arms and legs, paying special attention to the elbow and knee joints, where she was most vulnerable.

"There, there, now, it's all right," Pearl cooed as Peridot whimpered in pain. "Shh, shh, it's all right. It's all right. I've got you."

"I'm sorry, Pearl," Peridot mewled. "I just - I just wanted to be strong for you."

Peridot was sufficiently dry and Pearl placed her sash on the sand. She wrapped Peridot up in her arms, rubbing her damp back. "It's okay," Pearl said, looking out at the horizon. "I understand exactly how you feel now."

"You do?" She sounded incredulous.

Pearl looked down at Peridot before stroking her cheek. "Yes. And you're wonderful."

Peridot quivered almost imperceptibly, but Pearl noticed everything. She squeezed Peridot tighter, placing a small kiss on her gem.

"However," she added, "you're not going _anywhere_ without me, do you understand?"

Peridot looked for a moment as though she wanted to protest, but then stopped herself. Her shoulders sagging, she replied, "Fine. You have it your way."

They stayed like that in silence for about an hour. Pearl couldn't really claim to understand most things when she thought about them, but this... This was something she was quite familiar with. And she wasn't about to screw it up.


End file.
